DEE fence

'Take the game on.', 'Be aggressive.', 'Speed on the ball.', 'Swarm', ...Lethal... all terms you hear about MFC game style, whereas the WCE and Geelong game plans (pre '22) are dead, Geelong adapted, WCE did not, so that beautiful kick/mark football game of keepings off (yawn) that prioritised efficiency was found to be less useful than what Richmond, then us have been doing. This means more booboos from players who are ball winners like Gus, but high risk brings high reward. This playing style also leans on our superior fitness and run (relatively speaking) and team ethic. Gus consistently gets to where he is needed and puts it on the line and is a brilliant exponent of team first mentality. I can live with the booboos as they don't kill us on the scoreboard. I feel like people who criticise Gus are the same who yell 'kick it long' at the footy...

I felt like the opposition put some work into him this season, he was previously disregarded but in ‘21 his game put a target on his back. Oppositions seemed to close his space off quicker this season making his disposal more erratic (a bit). He needs to lift a tad as he will never get the same license again. Love him to bits, is selfless as a player, likes a laugh and doesn’t take himself too seriously. But he does need to do better than 9 snags and take his shots when they are there. I can see him being another team’s Daniel Cross down the track in 24/25, bringing some good habits to a struggling club.

The point of difference with Petty and why he must go forward is his contested marking (and legal aggression). This is more important in a forward than a back, where mobility and the ability to effect a spoil is at a premium. Brown Schache and Tmac are all inferior to Petty as contested marks, and Gawn is an erratic shot at goal. Petty also to my mind will unlock Fritsch further, who as a secondary forward is lethal. Petty will also provide more forward defensive pressure than any other forward something Brown cannot do. Then 2nd tall can be either JVR or Tmac. With Gawn resting occasionally forward.

Sacher Torte in Austria...

I think so too.

What is more scary is he finds a way to invent a new turgid defensive style that shuts down a game that has been much more attacking and fun to watch recently, a'la us, pies, cats, tiges, freo etc... that would be the true disaster.

Stop there, nailed it!

Would have been sacked r5 if it wasn't for Paddy Ryder, he was the band-aid holding their whole game plan together. Saints never looked likely without Paddy, and they really got dudded on Dan Hannenbery.

By the by, there has been talk that the bounces (throw in/up) are going to be taken alot quicker, regardless of whether the recognised ruckman is ready or not, with criticism of how long they wait for a ruckman like Max to get to the contest. If they (AFL umpires) enforce this, and we have dominant rucks ready to go, could be a major advantage to us, finally make up for when they were basterds cruelling Jeff White's leap with the 4m circle. Anything that protects the position of ruck is good, it's a feature of the best game on earth.

Everyone is talking about his off field dramas so I went and googled, the DUI and Code 12 were poor no doubt, but hardly in the class of De Goey, Stringer, Stengle recidivists. I for trust our crew to bring him into the fold, and his delivery into 50 could rewrite our conversion rates.

Clark Keating used to mail in about 3 games a year, usually including a flag, best role player ever.

Am shocked at the goodwill from Pies fans, reading things like 'MFC is now their 2nd club' (obviously tongue in cheek), obviously a class act to generate such goodwill from that particular fan base.

Have to say with recent media, I'm grumpy on reflection now, as his 2nd half of the year performance now seems to have been faked. That when everyone else is trying their guts out smacks of a dog act. Patrick Dangerfield played to the last second with the Crows, that was class.

https://tenor.com/view/princess-bride-paper-cut-gif-10271988

Not sure what you are getting at? It is clear that not all 'Churches' serve God. My point was A) he is obviously morally flexible having been a CEO of a Big four bank, B) On so many levels being a banker (as demonstrated by numerous scandals, fees for no service, money laundering, wage theft, etc) is inimical to being a 'Good' Christian. Thus he was perfectly suited to Essendon (was always going to be a lightening rod though). And by the way not describing myself as a good anything, especially Christian, but I aspire to do better. I also 100% respect belief and the right to have beliefs, but draw the line big time at pushing any agenda that limits someone/anyone's' right to a fair go.

I actually think you can park religious beliefs and work with all types, as much as I loathe the sentiments his church expresses, he is not a numpty his role with NAB suggests that. He was also pretty comfortable with the hypocrisy of being a banker and a Christian - Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other...you cannot serve God and money".

So one thing I think I noticed between our '21 campaign and '22, and that was the interchange rotations and the different roles Burgess and Selwyn have on matchday. Like Layzie said there is no single factor but a multitude. I do believe the reports that say Selwyn has a clue about his job and is well regarded. But in '21 Burgess was next to Goody calling the rotations and speaking to players on the bench, I didn't see Selwyn do that this year. Either because I didn't see enough of the bench on screen (I watch everything via WatchAFL) or it wasn't happening. To me this was a point of difference and have wondered why more than once, it seemed so slick in '21 I wondered why they stopped doing it, thoughts?

Some poor basterd (deliberate) from the club has to read DL? There is the reason why we didn't go B2B....

What is with the stream, have refreshed many times yet to see any footage.

Ed was one of my school teachers, he had more going on than just footy and it wasn't worth it to him at the time, wasn't dropped for performance.

Salem, Premiership Half-Back. A man barely alive. (Ladies &) Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's best HBF. Salem will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

Any I know have all gone Waco-Branch Davidian and are not responding to messages from the outside world.

I'm good with that, beyond reasonable doubt means overuling emotion, tough to do.

Sheedy (Sith Lord) and Scott (petulant North Korean dictator) will clash so spectacularly, love it! Adem has time on his side, and being measured in his approach does him the world of good in a hot house media environment. Clubs want this approach, his time will come.

This is so much worse than the supplements saga, it is properly evil, having a baby, either as a young mum or dad is a profoundly vulnerable time that is also super stressful, to pressure someone one way or another, and not support their decision based upon a commercial interest is so sick. I found out about this from my Hawthorn mate who has good connections to the board. He believes the report and he said Cyril has been waiting for a long time to fully give his side of the story. He is passionately obsessive about the Hawks and about as conservative as you can get. He mentioned that Clarko was known for being brutal (his words) with young players. He didn’t connect Cyril directly but thinks it likely. He is bereft and was making no excuses, however I would note that Hawthorn commissioned the report, fair play to them for doing so, and everyone deserves their day in court. I would not make any assumptions about what other players knew or did not know. I like that the AFL appointed a KC to lead the inquiry, that is a fair way to proceed. I actually think the AFL is moving the ball on Race in the right direction for the country, not perfectly, but ever since Nicky Winmar things have been getting better for the conversations we have. When you look at the totality of what has happened in sport you can see that Racism has been a stain but at least some of the people involved have owned the problem ( maybe kicking and screaming but still). I love Australia, best country by far for so many reasons, and acknowledging that it has a dark history to resolve changes none of my love. I am a white Australian ex cop who has indigenous family members. My father who was my hero, was an utter racist(hard to acknowledge), and yet none of his five sons continued that hate, which gives me huge optimism for Australia. @Neitz the Great I have your back.